Mr. Lenz
US History
Title: What is Progress?
Standards
B.12.3 Recall, select, and analyze significant historical periods and the relationships among them
B.12.15 Identify a historical or contemporary event in which a person was forced to take an ethical
position, such as a decision to go to war, the impeachment of a president, or a presidential pardon,
and explain the issues involved
Outcomes
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Explain the main goals of the Progressives and the strategies they used to reach their goals
Understand that the Progressive movement is an effect caused by social ills such as poor
sanitation, unacceptable working and living conditions and business and political corruption
Essential Questions
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•
What is progress?
What were the causes of the Progressive Era, and what goals did Progressives have?
Materials
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The Goals of Progressives graphic organizer
“Progressive Parties” article
Procedure
Introduction
Begin class with a short Think/Pair/Share activity to answer the question “What is progress?”
After about two minutes working as partners, bring the entire class back together to get a class
definition/understanding of what progress really is.
Transition from the discussion about the meaning of progress to a short lecture on the driving
causes of Progressive reforms such as poor working and living conditions, sanitation issues and
corrupt business and politics. As closure for the lecture, introduce some of the Progressives we
will study throughout the unit, mainly Upton Sinclair, Lincoln Steffens, Ida Tarbell and Jacob Riis.
Activity
Divide the class intro groups of three. Instruct each small group to work through the reading
together. To frame students’ thinking about the reading, as well as aid the comprehension
process, instruct groups to work through the graphic organizer identifying and explaining what
they think were the most important goals of the Progressives and explaining how each
Progressive tried to reach their goal.
Mr. Lenz
US History
Once each group has finished, bring the entire class back together. Going around each group,
ask each group to share what they thought was the most important goal and why. On the board,
write down each goal that made the “most important” list. Once each group has shared, make
sure each group writes down any goals they did not identify.
Assessment
Students understanding of the goals of Progressives will be assessed through students ability to
articulate what they thought was the most important goal and why. Furthermore, on the unit exam
students will be asked to write a short essay answering the question, “What was one of the major goals
of Progressives, and provide an example of how that goal was reached.”
Accommodations
Two copies will be available to students. One copy of the reading will be normal, but another copy of the
reading will have key-words and ideas bolded and underlined in the text. In each class I have at least one
student who I will encourage to read the copy with annotations and underlines and another group of
students who I will encourage to read the regular copy of the text. It will be up to the rest of the
students as to which copy of the text they read. I have attached to highlighted and underlined copy.
Mr. Lenz
US History
Goals of the Progressives
The Progressive Movement was an effort to cure many of the ills of American society that had
developed during the great spurt of industrial growth in the last quarter of the 19th century. The
frontier had been tamed, great cities and businesses developed, and an overseas empire
established, but not all citizens shared in the new wealth, prestige, and optimism.
Efforts to improve society were not new to the United States in the late 1800s. A major push for
change, the First Reform Era, occurred in the years before the Civil War and included efforts of
social activists to reform working conditions and humanize the treatment of mentally ill people
and prisoners.
The second reform era began during Reconstruction and lasted until the American entry into
World War I. The struggle for women`s rights and the temperance movement were the initial
issues addressed. A farm movement also emerged to compensate for the declining importance of
rural areas in an increasingly urbanized America. However, as part of the second reform period,
progressivism was rooted in the belief, certainly not shared by all, that man was capable of
improving the lot of all within society. As such, it was a rejection of Social Darwinism, the
position taken by many rich and powerful figures of the day.
Progressivism also was imbued with strong political overtones, and it rejected the church as the
driving force for change. Specific goals included:
 Removing corruption and undoing the influence from government through the taming
of bosses and political machines
 Including more people more directly in the political process
 Solving social problems and establishing fairness in economic matters through the
efforts of the government, popular culture and everyday Americans.
The success of progressivism owed much to publicity generated by the muckrakers, writers who
exposed the horrors of poverty, urban slums, dangerous factory conditions, and child labor,
among a host of other ills in order to encouraged people to support Progressive Reform and take
action themselves.
Successes were many, beginning with the Interstate Commerce Act (1887) and the Sherman
Antitrust Act (1890), legislation that made monopolistic trusts illegal in an effort to take power
away from big business. Progressives never spoke with one mind and differed sharply over the
most effective means to deal with the ills generated by the trusts; some favored an activist
approach to trust-busting, others preferred a regulatory approach.
A vocal minority supported socialism, made popular by Eugene V. Debs, with government
ownership of the means of production rather than private corporations driven by self-interest.
Other progressive reforms followed in the form of a conservation movement to protect the young
nation’s natural resources, railroad legislation to take economic power out of the hands of railroad
barons, and food and drug laws to create standards and regulate the food industry.
Mr. Lenz
US History
The progressive spirit also was evident in new amendments added to the Constitution (text), such
as the 16th and 17th amendments which used government legislation to provide a new means to
elect senators, protect society through prohibition and extend suffrage to women.
Urban problems were addressed by professional social workers who operated settlement houses
as a means to protect and improve the prospects of the poor. Journalists such as Upton Sinclair
and Jacob Riis published articles, books and photo journals to expose the wretched conditions
people were living in.
Labor organizations and unions banded together and used their collective drive to demand
change and fairness. A worker on his or her own had little effect but thousands of workers rallied
together had a tremendous voice. However, efforts to place limitations on child labor were
routinely thwarted by the courts and the needs of African Americans and Native Americans were
poorly served or served not at all — a major shortcoming of the progressive movement.
Progressive reforms were carried out not only on the national level, but in states and
municipalities. Prominent governors devoted to change included Robert M. La Follette of
Wisconsin and Hiram Johnson of California. Such reforms as the direct primary, secret ballot,
and the initiative, referendum, and recall were affected. Local governments were strengthened by
the widespread use of trained professionals, particularly with the city manager system replacing
the frequently corrupt mayoral system.
In the end, although the Progressive Party really gained momentum and many of the visions the
Progressives had never really took shape, we can thank the Progressives for many of the luxuries
we enjoy today, such as an 8-hour work day, workmen’s compensation, child labor laws,
minimum wage, the Food and Drug Administration and the regulations on Wall Street and big
business to check the tremendous power of big business in a Capitalist society.
Mr. Shefchik
Mr. Lenz
The Goals of Progressives
US History-2
Name:
Directions: As you read through the “Progressivism” reading use this graphic organizer to keep track of the goals of
Progressives as well as examples of how or what Progressives did to try and reach their goals. You are encouraged to
take notes in the margin, highlight/underline important parts, circle parts you didn’t understand and most importantly
read for a purpose (to better understand the goals and strategies of Progressives) rather than read to finish reading.
Goal
Example(s):
Goal
Example(s):
Goal
Example(s):
Goal
Example(s):